Cannibalism Game Mechanics, pt. 1 of 2

Well, here it is!

The Google Document posted below is the first part of a two-part proposal that will be forwarded to the Development Team. It is partially incomplete (the Kuru quests, for example). Before spending the time quest-/world-building, I thought I'd gauge the community & dev response.

The 1st page is nothing but a "hello!" to the group I'd originally sent it to -- you may as well skip it.

It is not formatted for mobile devices!! Best viewed at 1024x768 (or higher) resolution.

Some stuff you might be thinking:

1. Is the document long?
Yes. The document is an attempt to provide fluff & lay the groundwork. The final copy will be a condensed copy of this, and I intend to send both to the team.
Here's the TL;DR: You can eat people, and that's a bad thing to do! Shame on you!

2. This is fairly complex!
I encourage you to imagine the possible gameplay applications as you read. The system is not as complex as it seems, but rather sequences of "if/then"s.
Even with that streamlined approach in mind, I absolutely expect that the Devs will tone this down to make it easier on themselves to code (should they accept it). I'd like to see it implemented in its entirety, but I have to take a realistic approach: ask for far more than what you want, and you will ultimately settle for more than what you'd originally desired.
I mean, I don't even intend for there to be any gore whatsoever. Maybe even less than what's in UO.

3. Dude! WENDIGOS!?
Just something experimental that I'd thought up that (as far as I know) has not been implemented in other games with cannibalism.
It is there as a balancing factor, as it will always result in the cannibal's death & subsequent looting.
It is there to, for all intents and purposes, make them watch what they eat.

If I'm not forgetting anything, please post any constructive criticism in the comments section of the document. It will be less confusing going forward (avoids cross-posting from the document into the forum, leaving those who haven't read the document totally lost).

And, of course, please be respectful. A few minds came together on this, and I put a lot of thought in it. If you find something stupid or unbalanced, point out that thing specifically: trashing the document as a whole will only leave me at a loss of respect for both you & your opinion.


(Rough Copy) Cannibalism, pt. 1 of 2

Thank you to everyone who helped me come up with ideas & refine them along the way. And to the rest of you: thank you for reading.

I'll be forwarding this to the developers at the end of R6 and starting part 2 tomorrow afternoon (or whenever I'm done playing R6!)

*****************IMPORTANT!!****************

The spoiler below contains updated ideas regarding the possible utility of reagents harvested from corpses (necrotic reagents), and to which kind of spells each individual reagent would relate.

Spoiler

 

Amazing document. Cannot wait for part 2.

 

Great doc!

Did I recognize an image from Attack on Titan? Great anime there with lots of giants with smiles eating people. Can't wait for season 2!

 

Haha thank you! I love that anime! It seemed fitting to include.

And, yes, season 2 will be thrilling!!

 

Really cool idea I think. Having a cannibal system, its right up my alley. I like the idea of players being able to become complete murderous monsters. It takes the karma system to a whole new level. Some people are just thieves, dont murder or cannibalize. Some people murder on site, some murder for their own benefit but not without reason.... Some are cannibals(though cannibals may be doing it for a reason too, they dont neccessarily kill and eat anyone on site either)
We need to remember though that the idea of putting this kind of content in a game is going to be very controversial. Im totally for it, but I think the casual RPG gamer might get a bit queazy thinking about putting this into the game. Im sure many here find the whole idea completely ludicrous. Im not like most people though, morbid twisted content in games and movies don't phase me, and I actually seek out that kind of media. I was a fan of games like doom, mortal kombat, still want to get ahold of a copy of manhunt. Lots of people would consider me ill... But I never cause troubles in the real world I know the difference between fact and fiction, and what is just entertainment and all.
What I have noticed about content such as cannibalism is that it does not appeal to most people, and is likely to ruin the game for many. Im sure most could accept cannibalism in the game to some degree, but if the devs actually plan to put this in the game im going to expect it to be watered down quite a bit. No big deal for me though, im sure ill still love this game. So while I love this idea and i'd be happy to go the whole 9 yards with it, were I a dev, i'd be watering it down quite a bit myself because im trying to make a product that is going to be a big hit. Not a controversial cult following human centipede type of show even though its a great flick in my opinion!

 

Thank you for the feedback!

Yes - I, too, expect them to tone down certain aspects so that it's more acceptable to a broader audience. I hope that this can be accomplished through filters:

'blood and gore,'
'graphic content,'
and/or 'parental controls'

... rather than removing entire mechanics outright.

 

Hell... with the current trend on anti-heroes, that could be a game all on its own

 

I'm hungry

 

Hahahahahaha! now they have to add this into the game. This is great stuff. With the negative side effects of continual use, it will not be something the average player would want to do. However with prolonged use, it will help evil players lower their virtue, while making them appear more erratic by burst into some kind of random laughter fit or have some adverse effects that can be observed.

Surely players that live on human flesh would be outsiders, or even possibly flagged for PvP as a criminal or something.

 

Im thinking cannibalism could be a thing that certain "necromancer" based characters would be interested in taking advantage of. Either that or you could play the tribal voodoo type of character, but be virtually the same thing as the player who calls himself a necromancer, just a different style. One person could perhaps specialize in the death spell tree but not neccessarily take up actually consuming human flesh, perhaps for this "dark sorcerer" they prefer the advantages of keeping their diet clear of human flesh, but will take full advantage of spells such as corpse explosion, or raising the dead.
Maybe you dont use magic at all... But your like one of those savage kin characters that were popular in UO. Yea some were mages but if theres magical benefits or debuffs to cannibalism there should be non-magical ones as well.
And the topic of crafting with bones and human skin leather has been discussed in another thread.

 

Hey, would you mind linking me to that post? I'm trying to round up all the ideas of that sort (and the people behind them) before starting part 2 of this proposal.

 

Ive been digging, but it seems to be lost and buried deep in all the many threads on this site. It had something to do with building furniture out of human bones, and having cannibal yards outside your home, and locking down player ears and heads in your house. Or making shrunken heads out of your player victims and ear collection necklaces.
Twas a very controversial and touchy subject, almost like the PvP threads. And it kinda touched onto the PvP topic a bit as well of course.
Ill link it if I ever find it again.

 

THANK YOU!!! for putting it all together!!! Amazing WORK!!!

 

In part 2 you should think about what-- if anything-- happens when someone eats a CANNIBAL!!!

Like these FINE LADIES!!!

 

There is no fate worse than this. xD

 

So.. am I assume that some thought was put into how people aren't going to have a handful of players throwing this in their face every day in pt 2?

 

Elucidate?

 

As is, there is no proposed way to determine whether a corpse has been harvested from without actually attempting a harvest. So, in other words, your corpse would look normal (even if it had been tampered with, had its limbs stolen, etc.). I don't see the 'gore' factor (having chopped up body parts everywhere) as being necessary. Maybe a little pool of blood if LB wants it.

For the players who do want gore, we could take about a possible 'blood and gore' filter...

Also: p.9, item 1.a.iv.1 : There is a one-hour cooldown on harvests. Most people probably won't hang around that long to wait for your cooldown to end. While the cooldown's active, nobody can mess with your corpse as there is nothing to take.

p.9, item 1.b.i : If a player tampers with another's player corpse, the offender becomes pvp-eligible, a classic UO move.

p.9, item 1.a.iii / 1.b.iii : If you catch them tampering with your corpse, you are given the option to report them to any guards or bounty-hunting NPCs in the area. If they're slain, they're now eligible to be looted (as they either were or have become flagged for PvP, given the aforementioned item 1.b.i).

If someone is harrassing you -- that has more to do with them as a player, and not so much them as a 'cannibal.' Report them, and/or ignore them.

I have done my best to keep players from feeling humiliated. If you have any further suggestions, I welcome them.

 

All that plays more into the PvP scenario. At the moment we theoretically have ransom to guard against being harvested. Which is a problem here since you're trying to give body parts what amounts to market value and demand. So there are economic concerns to deal with. How would you keep that market out of the public eye?

Although that itself could lead to interesting PvP scenarios.. body part trafficking. Not that I want to encourage the whole cannibal thing mind you. The primary demand would be in the realm of necro reagents and the like I should think.

 

From the other thread:

• Adding a modifier to items created with humanoid body parts "Tainted", another variable..
• Setting 99% of vendors not to accept (or sell) Tainted goods.
• Add a new skill "Human Butchery" or "Harvest Flesh" only avatar's with this skill see and can take body parts off of NPC corpses. On PC corpses avatars will see the standard "trophies", avatar's with skill will see additional body parts that can be used.
• All spells that have flesh components have less macabre alternate reagents that can be used instead.
• The sale, consumption, crafting in public, and harvesting body parts is highly illegal and subject to death (guards attack if they see this behaviour in public)
• NPC humanoid meat vendors should be VERY rare, maybe 2-3 max in the entire game, they should have quests attached to some of them (both good and evil, kill him or do him a favour etc.), and the vendor should make sense, i.e. A corrupt undertaker, a shifty butcher that meets with people in a grove outside of town the 1st of every month to sell his misbegotten items.
• Gore slider \ parental controls \ Flesh trophies (on\off) etc. in the options menu

That should do it.

Any other examples: "throwing this in their face every day" that you can come out with?